About Riley

A BRIEF HISTORY

Hi, I’m Riley.

This website is largely about my musical projects. I’ve been acting and performing ever since I was 10 years old. Running alongside that has been my love of writing music and singing. When I was 18 I was cast as Tom in Toybox, a children’s TV show set in a child’s room, with a 5:1 set ( the skateboard was the size of a car, a cricket bat 10 metres tall, etc.). I acted, sung and danced across 4 seasons totalling 290 episodes, and performed live to over 50,000 people for Carols in the Domain.

After Toybox, I started creating and acting in my own TV series, tried and failed to get into the police force during my quarter life crisis (that’s a story for another day). My latest TV show is called Metro Sexual where Geraldine Hickey and myself play doctors Steph Huddleston and Langdon Marsh in a sexual health clinic that is constantly being threatened with closure by the health department. I'm working on a movie at the moment.

In between I’ve performed in many a musical, play, short film, music video, as well as casting producing or directing many shows in Australia like Gogglebox, Netflix’s The Mole reboot, Beauty & The Geek, Survivor, Junior MasterChef, Ultimate Tag, etc. I have also produced and performed on The Weekly with Charlie Pickering and Tomorrow Tonight. I have also taught acting at many schools around Australia including founding Australia’s largest online acting school Working Actors Academy.

When I turned 30 I wanted to examine a limiting belief I had, which was around music. Since declining music lessons in year 2 I have had loads of friends who are wickedly good musos and I’ve always said, “I can’t really play piano”. I have composed music for a long time, often writing songs for stage or screen. During the COVID times I started playing and writing more and more and now that’s what I do… daresay what I was always called to do but never believed I could.

tldr; I like writing, performing and acting - come see a show! - in which I get to push past my limiting beliefs and follow my heart, and you (the audience!) get to enjoy hopefully heartwarming entertainment that also subtly questions everything you thought you knew about your life - but still leaves you feeling happier than when you walked in the room.

As Seen On

A MAN ON A MISSION

I am following my heart. I love acting, creating music, making people laugh and above all telling a story. There is often so much I want to say that I can’t put into spoken words… but I love crafting them into lyrics and melodies.

There is so much good in the world, but also bad, and some things that I can’t stop thinking about is how technology is causing us to be so disconnected. Look around your train or bus, look around the restaurant, pub or cafe, look at your students in class… most people are on their phones/watches/devices. Is it fine? Or is it resistance. Is it people who are so scared of human connection, of looking someone in the eye and being vulnerable, that we cover it up with buying stuff we don’t need to distract us from the truth that we are desperately unhappy…

OR - is it fine? I’m a fan of Candy Crush too so, you know, balance.

If any of this has resonated, you might enjoy coming along to one of my shows.

SHOWS & APPEARANCES

Manifesto
Metro Sexual Season 2
In Halves
Metro Sexual Season 1
Super Elusive Condom: The Musical
Every Second

SEE ALL